Tornado an awesome sight in the dark sky: ‘Just like in the movies’
A Waihi Beach resident said she was ‘‘still shaking’’ after describing what is believed to be a tornado that hit the coastal town yesterday morning, damaging several homes.
Residents have alternately described the tornado as sounding like a train, or a missile, when it struck shortly before 8am.
Striking footage shows a water spout forming on the coast.
Ken Mustard, who lives on Wilson St, said the tornado appeared large, believing it was ‘‘100m wide by hundreds of feet up in the air’’ and lasted about 10 minutes.
‘‘It was very noisy, like a train. It was raining very heavily before that and suddenly this noise came. We had a tree [fall] because of the winds. We have had so much bad weather but this was just the worst of the lot.’’
Fire and Emergency NZ received calls reporting a tornado just before
8am, with multiple houses damaged – however no reports of injuries.
Police reported the event had taken down power lines, and about 1500 properties were without power.
A Dillon St resident, who did not want to be named, had a bruised arm from smashed glass when the tornado hit her house.
Her daughter, who lives in Waihi town, said glass pieces from broken doors and windows, caused by fallen trees, were everywhere on the lawn when she arrived to check on her mother.
The roof was damaged and she estimated the repairs would be expensive.
She was glad her mother was safe. ‘‘She was in the living room when she heard the glass smashing and ran to the bedroom. It was very noisy, like missiles smashing on the glass.’’
Waihi Beach resident Emma Rohloff was checking in on family friend Phil Foster who also lives on Dillon St.
She said the tornado ripped his garage door, smashed some windows, and trees were everywhere.
The tornado caused a tree to fall in the front yard of the bach where Maria Duffey was staying.
‘‘I have only seen this kind of stuff on TV. The wind was so loud, never heard anything like this before and we saw debris really high in the sky.’’
Papamoa resident Sarah Cooper, who is staying at an Airbnb near the beach, said ‘‘stuff just started flying through the sky’’. ‘‘I’m shaking,’’ she said.
The tornado went on for a few minutes, knocking over fences and blowing trees around. ‘‘The locals are all a little shell-shocked.’’
Scott St resident Alana BroadheadFryer said the funnel in the blackened sky was ‘‘just like in the movies’’.
‘‘It was quite a sight because there was stuff flying everywhere.’’
Palm trees across the road were ‘‘almost bent in half,’’ she said.
A neighbour told her the tornado picked up their van from the road and dropped it onto a berm.
‘‘It was very intense, but I just feel grateful no one was hurt.’’